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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23911189">Jam Bud Week 2</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintonThePhantom/pseuds/QuintonThePhantom'>QuintonThePhantom</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Beach City, Bed &amp; Breakfast, College, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jam Bud Week 2020, Journey's End, Marriage Proposal, Moving In Together, New Beginning, Panic Attack, Sightseeing, but im gonna try dammit, connverse - Freeform, hometown, i cant write fluff to save my life, im so late on all of these, ive known this for over a month and im still shook, proposal, sorta - Freeform, the gems are robots, who knows but i am, why am i such a sap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:29:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23911189</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintonThePhantom/pseuds/QuintonThePhantom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>so this is way late and i meant to post it last night and that clearly didn't pan out but better late than never HERE WE GO</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran &amp; Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Day 1: Bed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so this is way late and i meant to post it last night and that clearly didn't pan out but better late than never HERE WE GO</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>For this one i chose bed but,,, they are in a bed and breakfast.  Kind of a sequel to https://archiveofourown.org/works/23390137</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soft morning light filtered through the translucent curtains, casting its friendly glow on Steven’s eyelids.  He lay perpendicular to the warmth of another body, each of them with their arms snugly wrapped around the other.  He inhaled contentedly, his chest feeling light.  For a long time he’d forgotten what that felt like.</p><p>     After a minute or two of laying like this, he started to grow more lucid.  As this happened he remembered that he was on a trip across the country, that he was embracing someone, and (notably) that him and Connie had gone to sleep in the same bed last night.</p><p>     He cracked one eye open to confirm his suspicion.  Sure enough, inches away from his face was none other than Connie Maheswaran.  His cheeks- in the human way- flushed pink.  Not only were their faces barely separated, but her hands had, at some point, slid under his shirt and up his back all the way to where his scars were.  The touch made him shiver slightly, even though her hands had probably been there for hours.</p><p>     As if they weren’t already close enough, she shifted in her sleep, mumbling something under her breath that sounded almost like it had been the word ‘universe’.  Her nose was now touching his and her peaceful breaths tickled his skin with their warmth.</p><p>     If his cheeks had been pink before, they were surely now a bright red to rival Ruby.</p><p>     He wasn’t quite sure what to do about the situation.  Of course, the logical thing to do if he wanted to get out of this... intimate position... would be to wake her and quietly point out how they seemed to have entangled themselves during the night.</p><p>     He was considering doing just that, but he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the easy smile she wore.  He remembered how exhausted she’d looked before, how many restless nights likewise to his own she’d mentioned offhandedly to him.  The light that trickled into the room illuminated her face, and he loved every inch of it but maybe that smile the most.</p><p>     He slowly lifted his right arm from where it had rested on her side, brushing an errant hair behind her ear, and sighed.</p><p>     The girl’s eyes opened slightly, staring into his, and he was suddenly reminded of how close they were.  She gave him a lopsided smirk.  “Heyyy there, jam budddd.”</p><p>     Steven jumped up and away from her, heart pitter pattering at record speeds.  Connie blinked from where she lay, cheek resting on the pillow and arms no longer wrapped around him.  Then she blinked again, and then once more.</p><p>     “Ah!  Steven!”  She shot up, hair matted and tangled on one side.  “It’s morning already, huh!” she said, punctuating it with an embarrassed laugh.</p><p>     “Er… heh, yeah.  Time flies when you’re… asleep.”  He cleared his throat, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>     “Uh… did you sleep good?” she asked, clearly trying to relieve some of the tension that clung to the air.  He nodded.  “Yeah.  Really good… what about you?”</p><p>     “Better than I have in a long time, even the last few weeks.  So great!”  She stretched for a few moments.  He smiled, face still hot.  “I thought so… hoped.”  He paused.  “You’re really pretty when you’re happy.”  She raised an eyebrow.  “So… I’m not pretty when I’m moping about, then?”</p><p>     “What?  No!  That’s... not what I meant at all!  I, I meant that you, I mean-” he stumbled over his words.  She laughed, hand hovering slightly over her mouth.  He gazed at her, getting the giggly kind of feeling that Blue Diamond’s clouds had given him, but this was so much more… real.  He really loved her.  “It just makes me happy when you’re happy,” he said simply.</p><p>     She blinked, letting her hand drop.  “Wow,” she said.  “You’re such a sap.”  He grinned at her.  “I can’t help it.  You’re making me this way!  Really, it’s your fault!” he accused her, but before he could say anything else she was kissing him, and it was short and sweet and he leaned into her and when it over he went straight back to grinning, only now she was, too.</p><p>     “Are you ready to breakfast, or are you afraid the syrup might compete with your sap?” she asked him playfully.</p><p>     “No syrup can combat me!  In fact, let’s go show it right now that Steven Quartz Cutie-Pie Demayo Diamond Universe is a force to be reckoned with!”</p><p>     “I’m sure it’s trembling in fear right now…”  She splayed her hands out in front of her as if pleading for mercy.  “No, Steven!  At this rate, I might as well give up!  The sap is too much for even me to fight..!”</p><p>     “Foolish syrup!”  He laughed in a deep voice.  “You should’ve known not to challenge me!  Now watch me compliment my smart, wonderful girlfriend and toil!”</p><p>     “Noooooo..!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Day 2: Sightseeing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this one's real short but ah well. decided on sightseeing.  also note that these are... like all my fics... completely unedited whoops</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Connie stepped off of the ship, the bottoms of her shoes crunching on crystalline sand that stretched along the shore.  She turned back to Steven and extended an arm.  “Shall we?”</p><p>     They interlocked their elbows and started down the beach, giggling to themselves.  Behind them, some of the off colors filtered out.  She rested her head on Steven’s shoulder, staring out at the sea.  The vast body of water spanned the horizon, luminous with a natural glow.</p><p>     “Sometimes I can’t even believe it,” she murmured after a few minutes of easy silence.  He looked at her, brow slightly furrowed.  “Believe what?”</p><p>     “That you saved this place, silly.  It would’ve been sucked dry by now if you hadn’t-”</p><p>     “I didn’t save it.”  She was promptly cut off.  She narrowed her eyes, confused.  “And how is that?  You-”</p><p>     “No, that’s not what I meant… ugh.”  He placed a hand under her chin and gently guided her face so that she was looking at him.  “I didn’t save it alone, I mean.  I couldn’t have done any of it without you.  You established democracy at thirteen!  I mean, I don’t know the first thing about politics!”</p><p>     She blinked.  “I guess you’re right, but I couldn’t have done any of that if you hadn’t stopped the diamonds first.  And I needed you to get them to even take me seriously.”  She pushed away the memories of them calling her a ‘pet’ over and over until she’d finally had enough.</p><p>     “And if I’d just stopped the diamonds and left it would’ve just gone back to how it used to be.”  He softly ran his fingers through her hair.  “We did it together, got that?  You’re just as important as me.”</p><p>     She hummed thoughtfully at that.  “I guess I am, huh?”  She gazed out at the waves crashing on a distant cliff, breaking apart in an explosion of foam and seawater that ricocheted away from the surface.  The alien sun sunk into the horizon, lighting the sky up with vibrant colors.  She’d seen it before, but only in passing.  She’d never really looked like this.</p><p>     It was a hard thing to believe, that she could’ve played a part in preserving this, even if she knew it was true.  She felt almost giddy at the thought.  She also felt like she needed to find a way to put her space politics onto a practical resume, but that was a job for later.</p><p>     Now, she just watched the sun setting.  She must’ve drifted off at some point, but that was okay.  It was a honeymoon, after all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Day 3: College</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven sat in the back of his car, calming music humming in his ears and computer resting on his lap.  The lull of sleep had started to tug on him somewhat, but he wasn’t quite ready to turn in for the night yet.</p><p>     He was stretching, planning on staying up another twenty minutes or so, when there was a familiar rapping on his trunk.  He jumped slightly as Connie swung it open, hastily shutting his laptop.  Had she told him she was coming to see him that night?  He thought she must’ve, at some point.</p><p>     “Hey, Steven- oh, woah,” she said as he started.  He tugged the earbuds out when her voice sounded muffled.  “Er, sorry,” he apologized, setting it aside.</p><p>     “Did I… interrupt something?” she asked, lingering outside.  She must’ve caught onto his panic, because her voice was a carefully measured calm.  He could see Lion curling up in the grass a couple of feet away.  “Not… really,” he said, somewhat hesitant.  She climbed up into the car, having to half-crawl to make her way over to him once she was in the makeshift living space.</p><p>     “Do you… wanna tell me, or just watch these bad teen dramas I brought?”  She settled down next to him, swinging a bag over her shoulder onto the ground.  He could hear a few cases rattle about when it hit the floor, most likely belonging to said teen dramas.  “Mmm.”</p><p>     “That was just a noise you made there,” she teased, settling down next to him.  “Both?” he asked and she nodded.  “Sure.”</p><p>     They pulled out a small tv and, after popping one of the cheesiest looking one’s disc in, settled against the front seats next to each other.  They left the trunk open, allowing a cool breeze to blow into the car.</p><p>     The two of them stayed like that in silence for a couple of minutes before Steven spoke.  “It’s kind of embarrassing, is all.”</p><p>     She hummed, looking up at him- not expectantly, but as if she wanted to know she was listening.</p><p>     “I… er… I’ve been taking courses online.  I’ve been… ttthinking about maybe going to college.  In the future.”</p><p>     “Really?” she said before shaking her head.  “I don’t know why I said that.  You wouldn’t tell me if you weren’t being serious.”</p><p>     “No, I know,” he mumbled, looking away.  She leaned forward a bit, brows pinching together.  “Know what?”</p><p>     “I’m… you know.  Not that smart,” he said with a halfhearted shrug.  “What’re you talking about?”  She sounded almost offended.  “You’re the boy who established peace across the universe!”</p><p>     “I’m also the boy who couldn’t count money until a few months ago.  I get that it’s gonna be hard.”  She leaned against his shoulder.  “You know you don’t have to go to college to be smart, right?”</p><p>     He bit his lip.  “I know, but… I think it could help me.  I think it might be a good way to adjust to, you know, human society.  I still have so much to learn…”</p><p>     “As long as it’s what you want, I support you.  I’m sure you can do it if you put your mind to it.”  She said, and something about it made him feel that she believed it.  “I don’t get why you were so embarrassed, though.”</p><p>     “Well… I’m doing all this so late.  I’m really behind,” he mumbled.  “Everybody goes at their own pace.  Besides, you’ve had a lot to deal with.  You should be able to take it slow.”</p><p>     “Heh.  Thanks.”</p><p>     “Sooo… any ideas about what you want to major in?”  She tilted her head overly emphatically at him.  “Promise me you won’t laugh.  It’s not really all that practical.”</p><p>     “Practicality never stopped you before,” she reasoned.</p><p>     “I guess you’re right.  Erm…”  He squirmed a bit.  “Musical theater..?”</p><p>     He slowly turned to her to find her beaming at him.  He chuckled slightly.  “I knew you’d be supportive but I didn’t think you’d be that supportive.”  She shook her head.  “No, it’s just.  I think you’ll be great.”</p><p>     “Yeah?”  She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her.  “Uh, obviously.”</p><p>     They sat for a short moment before Connie said, “I totally haven’t been paying attention.”</p><p>     “Neither have I.  I think Casey and Jenna broke up.”</p><p>     “Finally.  Now Jenna can finally get with Gwen.”</p><p>     “Aw, Casey was nice.”</p><p>     “Sure, but Gwen?”</p><p>     “Yeah, you're right.”</p><p>     Steven really didn’t know what he’d been worried about.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Basically I just want Steven on broadway, ok?  Ok.  Also bad teen drama movie nights.  Because reasons.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Day 4: Lion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>'Lion'?  Did you mean 'Steven has a panic attack and also Lion is there'?</p><p>Speaking of which, uhh cw for panic attack</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven’s head was pounding as blood seemed to have rushed up into it.  He struggled to stay on his feet, biting his lip.  The room was bathed in a bright pink light and the crowd was undulating like a single entity, unquantifiable and terrifying for some reason he didn’t know.  His hands were bathed in that same pink light and he couldn’t tell if it was coming from him or the room, and he knew what the answer must be but he could still feel his throat closing up.  The scars on his back tingled as his thoughts spiraled out of control.</p><p>     Then there was a hand on his shoulder and it sounded like she was talking through a barrier of molasses but Connie was there.  “Steven, look at me.”  He was.  He didn’t know if he managed to say it aloud, but he was.  “Steven, I need you to concentrate on your breathing, okay?”  He said yes.  Maybe?  Well, he did what she asked.  She drew in a large breath of air and he followed her lead.</p><p>     In… and out.  In… and out.</p><p>     Again.  Again.  And again, until he slowly felt the weight on his chest start to lessen.  He wasn’t pink, this place with its too-loud music and its crowd of strangers did, but those things didn’t matter because Connie was here.  His back didn’t hurt because he wasn’t in the living room ranting about… he wasn’t there.</p><p>     He vaguely registered her saying “Let’s get out of here, Steven,” and so he allowed her to guide him through the torrent of people as he did his best not to look at their faces.  What was he expecting to find on their faces?  Pity?  Shame?  Horror?</p><p>     It was better if he just didn’t look.</p><p>     Connie didn’t look afraid.  Did she feel afraid?  Her hand was trembling slightly in his, but her expression was steadfast and determined.  He stared at as they made their way out of the club and into the brisk air.</p><p>     He wondered, not for the first time, if she was afraid of him.</p><p>     Then he was sitting with five of his toes curling in the sand(when had he lost a sandal?) and Connie was leaning on one side of him and Lion was leaning on the other.  He blinked once, and then twice.</p><p>     Why did this keep happening?</p><p>     He slowly lifted an arm to run his fingers through the large feline’s downy mane.  It was oddly calming, he thought, and Connie must’ve known that.  “I’m… sorry,” he said, and his voice was nasally like he’d been crying.  Had he?  He hadn’t been aware of it, if so.</p><p>     “It’s alright,” she told him, and her voice trembled but she was there and she was with him.  He swallowed the mucus in the back of his throat.  Lion made a rumbling noise and placed his chin on Steven’s head, as if trying to reassure him.</p><p>     “But tonight was supposed to be us having fun and doing teen stuff and I ruined it.”  Connie ran her thumb up and down on his hand.  “I didn’t even like that place.  I was about to suggest we leave.”</p><p>     “Yeah, but…”  Lion moved his head so that he could shove his nose onto Steven’s cheek.  “I agree with him,” Connie said.  “No buts.”</p><p>     He sighed, feigning exasperation.  “I wish you didn’t have to deal with this though.  It’s… not your fault, you know..?”</p><p>     “It’s not yours either.  None of this is your fault.”  She sunk deeper into where her head rested on his shoulder.  “I’m just glad I can be there for you.”</p><p>     “Th…”  He leaned against her, fighting the tears welling up in his eyes.  “Thank you.”  He lost the fight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Day 5: Hometown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Steven and Connie are (not) finally done... and Stevonnie, because I love them... yes<br/>Short n sweet on this one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Steven’s shoes touched the grass, it didn’t feel real to him.  It was almost like he was astral projecting again, though he knew he wasn’t.</p><p>     He swallowed, feeling unsteady on his feet.  The sun felt too bright.  When it shone on his skin, instead of giving him a warm buzz of energy, it made him feel like he’d just chugged an energy drink or a cup of coffee(something he’d been doing more than he ever had before recently).</p><p>     He drew in a deep breath, tasting the air on his tongue for the first time in… had it been months or years?  He couldn’t really remember.</p><p>     The boy looked out at the town he grew up in and felt a swelling in his heart.  He was finally home.  The universe was safe, and so was Beach City.  And he was back.</p><p>     A hand was placed on his shoulder.  He started a bit, looking back to see who it belonged to.  He was greeted by an enthusiastic, if nervous grin which Connie was wearing.  He mimicked her smile, suppressing the urge to break into joyful laughter.  “We’re home,” he said to her simply.</p><p>     She giggled a bit before listing to the side.  He had to leap forward to steady her as she started to fall to the side.  “Sorry… heh, gravity’s wonky, huh?”  He blinked- had he already adjusted?</p><p>     Connie let out a breath of… what was it?  Relief?  No, it was something sweeter than that which he couldn’t place.  “We are home, aren’t we?”</p><p>     Suddenly, she was moving toward him to hug him and he was hugging her back, and then they were hugging themself.  Stevonnie looked out on the city they hadn’t seen in far too long and, letting the laughter Steven and Connie had tried to push aside bubble to the surface, ran through the field with glee.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the line about the sun being like energy drinks and caffeine is referring to the fact that the gems are fuc king solar powered robots and steven is a cyborg yall</p><p>https://www.cbr.com/rebecca-sugar-interview-on-the-end-of-steven-universe/?utm_content=bufferacdbb&amp;utm_medium=Social-Distribution&amp;utm_source=CBR-TW&amp;utm_campaign=CBR-TW</p><p>like thank you so much rebecca... but also whAT</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Day 6: Journey's End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>another short one, but the last one is probably going to be the longest one.  so thats cool.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven and Connie talked about lots of things.</p><p>     Sometimes they were surrounded by people.  The people around them would all have their own agendas and lives and they could probably hear what was being said in their quiet tones but it didn’t matter.</p><p>     Sometimes they were alone, as if it were only them in the world at that time.  The stars would be their witness as they bore their souls to each other and talked about books with fervor and everything in-between.</p><p>     It wasn’t something Steven had been thinking about for weeks ahead of time, or even hours.  He didn’t ponder the right way to say it, or roll the thought over in his head with eternal debates that got him nowhere.</p><p>     They had just been sitting there, leaning against Lion in the evening air, and the words came out of his mouth and they were true.</p><p>     “I think I’m ready to find a place,” he said, staring out at the sun as it made its way past the horizon.  Connie looked to him, leaning on her side.</p><p>     “You’re done traveling?” she asked, interest seemingly piqued.  He inhaled, mulling it over for a few moments.  “Not all traveling.  I want to travel.  But… I think I’m done with this one, you know?  It just feels like it’s ready.  I’m… ready.”  He turned his head to see her.  She was smiling warmly at him, bathed in the vibrant orange light of the sunset</p><p>     “You believe me?” he asked with some trepidation.  She glanced to the sky, eyes lingering on it before returning to him.  “Do you believe you?”</p><p>     He did, didn’t he?  “Yes,” he told her, and she grinned.  “Well, then I believe you.”  He huffed out a small gust of breath, letting his head drop so that it was resting on her shoulder.  “Hey,” she said.</p><p>     “Yeah?” he replied.</p><p>     “Do you want to live together?” she asked him, simple and plain.  The cogs in his brain started to turn long after she’d said it, to realize the implications of what she’d just suggested.</p><p>     Did she realize them?  Of course she did, she was Connie.  But what if she regretted it?  What if…</p><p>     His gaze shifted to look up at her.  “Do you?”</p><p>     “It’s up to you,” she said, then returned his gaze.  “But if you’re asking, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”  There was a certain playfulness in her voice.  What was this?</p><p>     Oh.  An invitation.</p><p>     “Yeah,” he sighed.  “I don’t think I would either.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Day 7: New Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am not used to writing Connie perspective, so she might be ooc, but... ill never improve if i never do it soo</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the city, the sound of cars rushing by was a constant.  Something that seemed like it would be annoying at first but steadily faded into the back of your head.  The people were always moving and the city moved with them, in a way.  Change was indubitably a constant in this place.</p><p>     Still, Connie couldn’t help but feel like they were, if only for a time, ‘settling down’.  Moving in together, even if it was an apartment, felt big.  Bigger than it had when she’d suggested it out of what she’d thought was pure practicality.</p><p>     She may not have been the one taking the trip across the country, but she was with Steven essentially every other step of the way.  It felt like something was coming to a close.</p><p>     Both of them still had a long way to, Connie was sure of it.  And yet something about it made her start to think.  Was she ready?</p><p>     Connie held Steven’s hand in hers, leading out onto the balcony.  He laughed nervously, trying not to trip over his own feet(which were, infuriatingly, still donning flip-flops in November).</p><p>     “When am I allowed to take the blindfold off?” he asked her.  She snorted, rolling her eyes.  “You just put it on, silly.  And I’m still moving, so obviously not now.”</p><p>     “You can’t blame me…” he said, punctuating it with a heavy sigh.  “This is clearly a far less optimal state for me.  I can’t look at you...” he started, sounding like he was about to follow it up with something else but simply letting the sentence drop off.</p><p>     “That’s it?  The one thing you miss out on without your sight?”  She opened the door and shut it behind them, Steven by her side the whole time.  “Well, I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me,” he drawled, leaning in close to her and, after a bit of correction, resting his chin on her shoulder.</p><p>     She took a moment to gaze at him before abruptly spinning him around and plucking the blindfold from his face.  He blinked a few times and Connie slinked to his side.</p><p>     The lights of the city lit up the night sky, like a thousand tiny voices cutting through the quiet.  On the balcony Connie had set a table for two, complete with painfully cliche romantic candles.  It was simple but, as expected, Steven’s eyes lit up when he saw it.</p><p>     Then he blinked, looking to her with slight confusion.  “But I thought you didn’t like this kind of romantic stuff..?”  She shrugged, tapping his nose with a finger and striding to take a seat.</p><p>     He flushed, staring at her for a long moment.  It took her a second to realize he was probably caught off guard by her attire- a slick navy suit she’d decided… suited… the situation.  Oh… lord, had he rubbed off on her.</p><p>     The hybrid seemed to realize what he was doing and cleared his throat, flustered.  “I didn’t know you were gonna dress… so nice… I’m kinda underdressed, huh?”  She smirked, resting her elbows on the table.  “Just sit down, Universe.”  He obliged.</p><p>     “This seems like… a lot.  Is it some kind of occasion I’ve forgotten about?”  She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to act cool and collected and not think about what she was about to do.  She thought she was doing relatively well so far, considering the way he gawked adoringly at her.  Then again, he did that pretty often in general.</p><p>     “What occasion do you think it is?’ she asked, reflecting his question back at him.  He leaned over the small table, face propped up on the palms of his hands.  “Erm… maybe… our anniversary?  I didn’t know we had one of those.”</p><p>     “We don’t, silly.  Unless you count the day you saw me for ten seconds, or the day we spent trying to get out of a bubble,” she said.</p><p>     “We should have one.  I guess… if it’s not that…”  He made a drawn out humming noise that slowly tapered off.  “You don’t usually make me do guessing games.  What’re you up to..?”  He squinted, searching her gaze.  She just grinned, leaning closer in so that their faces were a few inches apart.  The mock-suspicious look dropped almost immediately, replaced by a mix of alarm and fondness.</p><p>     “I dunno.  You tell me,” she said, and then placed a hand on his.  He gaped, the diamonds in his eyes glinting in the candlelight, as she propped a foot up onto the table.  At the same time, she hit a button on her phone that started to play the song that had played the day they first fused.  Moments later, she was standing on the small table and looking down at him, trying to ignore the fact that the hand she was using to clutch onto his own was trembling.</p><p>     She could see him swallow as she spoke with a practiced level tone.  “Come dance with me?”  He didn’t have to climb up like her, he simply floated up to her level- and a little bit past- wordlessly.  She snickered, tugging him down so that his feet at least touched the table.</p><p>     “Gosh, Universe, at least try to hide it.” she pretended to chide him as she started to spin, their fingers interlocking.  “You’re trying to make me fall in love with you more.  This was all part of your master plan...” he mumbled, trailing off.</p><p>     “Maybe it was.  Is it working yet?”  Their spinning came to a halt and he murmured something that, while unintelligible, sounded like an affirmation.  She stepped back and dropped off of the table, pulling him with her.  She led as they danced along the city skyline in a messy amalgamation of dance moves, some real but out of place and some that she came up with completely on the spot.  It didn’t really matter either way, if it was them.  And it was.</p><p>     She kept him grounded, but she could feel his feet almost gliding above the ground.  As the music built to its conclusion, she swung him about and then dipped him with all the precision of a person who’d been practicing this for weeks.  Of course, she had.</p><p>     He beamed up at her, stars in his eyes.  For a moment, they fused, and they were one.  Stevonnie then melted back into the two of them, leaving them standing face to face.</p><p>     Connie cleared her throat, which seemed to be unusually tight now that it came down to actually doing what she’d intended to.  The song had ended and now they were just standing across from one another, looking at each other.  She tried to gauge the moment in her mind.  Had she done it right?  She wasn’t romantic by nature, so if she’d messed up it wouldn’t be a surprise.</p><p>     If she was being logical about it, however, it didn’t really matter in the end.  What counted was that she did it.</p><p>     She sunk down so that she knelt on one knee, retrieving a tiny box from within her pocket.  “I suppose you already know what this is.”  She popped it open.</p><p>     It was frightening, she had to admit.  Not because she was afraid he’d say no, but because of what it would mean if he said yes.</p><p>     He drew in a shaky breath, and she followed suit.  She lifted her eyes to look at him, and when she saw his wide eyes, glossy with tears, she felt like she’d been knocked off-kilter.  Why now?</p><p>     “So, uh,” she said, deviating from the script she couldn’t bring herself to remember.  “How ‘bout it?” she finally asked unceremoniously.</p><p>     He slowly sank down so that they were on the same level, his hands sliding into place on the sides of her face.  “I love you, Connie,” he managed to choke out, and then let his forehead bump against hers.  She smiled as he used his thumb to swipe away a tear and realized she’d been crying.  Well, that was a bit embarrassing.</p><p>     “I love you too,” she said.  “Duh.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yeah,,, i wanted to write a cheesy proposal... so I did.  I have the power to do this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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